Apples!!!

Appleton Public Library PresentationOctober 2014

Presented by the Outagamie County Master Gardeners

Outagamie County Master Food Preservers in cooperation with Outagamie County

University of WI Extension

Choose the preservation method that is best for your applet variety.

Freezing apples? Try Golden Delicious, Rome Beauty, Stayman and Jonathan and Granny Smith

Applesauce and Apple butter: Golden Delicious, Rome Beauty, Stayman, Jonathan, Gravenstein and McIntosh.

Select the right variety!

Delicious apples are best eaten fresh! They do not freeze or cook well.

What about “Delicious” apples?

When selecting your apples, remember their flavor is best when at the peak of maturity.

How do you judge maturity?◦Hint: do not go by size◦Different varieties have different typical diameters.

.

Harvest at Peak Maturity

Choose apples that are free of defects such as bruises, skin breaks and decayed spots.

Brown spots appearing solely on the skin of the apple, called “russeting” do not affect quality

What do you choose?

Look for firm, hard apples. Soft apples tend to have a mealy texture and overripe flavor.

Choose apples that are juicy, crisp and preferably both sweet and tart!

The bottom line?

While it is best to use the apples as soon as possible after harvest many cultivars also store well in a cool, dry place.

The late maturing varieties are best suited for storage. These apples can be stored in baskets or boxes lined with plastic or foil to retain moisture.

Storage of Apples:

Cortland, Golden Delicious, Rome Beauty, Stayman, Jonathan, Granenstien and McIntosh

HINT: The most flavorful juice, applesauce or apple butter is prepared from a mixture of several different varieties of apples for a delightful mixture of tart and sweet.

Canning Apples Suggested varieties:

How do you use a hot water boiling bath canner?

What are some safety precautions we should follow?

Do we have to have a rack in the canner? What do you do if the water goes down

below the jar tops?

What does a hot water boiling bath canner look like?

Can I re-use jars? What does a canning jar look like? Can we keep and re-use the lids and screw

bands?

What about canning jars?

When canning slices, sauce and sweet spreads, use high quality apples without signs of decay. Do not can “windfall apples” (fruit that has blown off the tree) because they are likely to contain mold spores which can result in spoilage.

What about windfall apples?

Hot-pack all home canned apple products and process in a boiling water bath canner for the specific times of the various products according to the tested recipes.

You can use pressure canners for apple products as well, it may result in a less than optimum product due to the quick process time, but time needed to vent and cool down.

For Safety and Quality Sake:

pH below 4.6 Fruits, Pickles, Salsas - Hot water bath

pH above 4.6 Vegetables, Meat -- Pressure canner

How do I know what method to use?

Why do I have to process apples or applesauce in a canner?

Process in a boiling water bath canner for the recommended time of a tested recipe.

You can freeze unsweetened apple slices if you or going to bake them in pies or cobblers.

Freeze slices on a cookie sheet; when they are frozen solid, remove slices and pack in freezer containers.

Use a fruit “dip” We’ll talk about that later…

How do I prevent browning?

“Can I just skim the mold off the top of the jar?”

So what if there is some mold?

Apple Butter Applesauce Reduced sugar apple butter (Ball/Kerr) Apple Slices Brandied Apple Rings (Ball/Kerr) Spiced Apple Rings (Ball/Kerr) Apple Juice Pie Filling

Canning Ideas for Apples:

Generally, very firm, ripe fruit is best for canning.

Light-colored fruit may brown rapidly once cut. Prevent browning by dipping fruit in an acid solution, or sprinkle fruit with an anti-browning powder (or work quickly and don’t worry!)◦ Use lemon juice or Vitamin C in an acid solution.◦ Dip fruit for no more than 10 minutes, then drain.

Canning Fruits

Canning Fruits

Syrup Ingredients

Sugar - Light

4 C. water + 1 C. sugar

Juice – Light ¼ C. juice + C. water

Sugar – Heavy Choose

4 C. water + 3 C. sugar

Juice – Heavy 1 C. juice (no water)

You can make your own pie filling and can it according to directions.

Or

You can freeze the pie filling for use later.

Pies…

Line several pie pans with wrap or foil. Prepare pie filling and pour into prepared pans. Freeze. Once frozen, remove pie filling form pans, wrap securing, label and return to the freezer. When it’s time to bake a pie, prepare the bottom curst. Slip a frozen pie filling “center” onto the bottom crust and top with a second crust or crumb topping. Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes, then reduce heat and continue baking at 375 for another 45 minutes until it is done. Watch for browning!

Overflowing pie pans? Try this:

Jammin’ to some different ideas…

Pear-Apple JamApple JellyCrabapple JellyMulled Apple Cider JellyApple PreserversApple Chutney

Apple Jellied Products might be:

Dried fruits are unique, tasty, and nutritious.

Wash the fruit and core it. Apples can be cut and sliced as desired. Thin, uniform peeled slices dry the fastest. The peel can be left on the fruit but

unpeeled fruit takes longer to drive. Apples can be cored and sliced in rings,

wedges or chips.

Drying Fruits

Peel and core, cut into slices or rings about 1/8” thick.

Pretreat the pieces in steam or syrup or other mixtures

Dry the pieces Apples take 6-12 hours to dry in a food

dehydrator

And then what?

Store in glass or plastic bags after you are sure the products are thoroughly dried.

Storage:

Use an up-to-date tested recipe. Now is not the time to be creative!

Follow the recipe carefully, including all steps.

Adjust for elevation.

Use a boiling water canner for safety and quality.

Don’t Forget

*Note: darker areas on the state map have an elevation above 1,000 feet. Increase time when boiling water canning.

More information:

http://outagamie.uwex.edu

Learning Store http://learningstore.uwex

If you have food preservation questions you can call: 920-832-5126 and ask for

Karen Dickrell, Family Living Educator